Don't Be Cruel - Hound Dog! 7'' Single - Elvis Presley 1956

Single by Elvis Presley

A-side "Don't Be Cruel"
B-side "Hound Dog"
Released July 13, 1956
Format 45 rpm, 78 rpm single
Recorded July 2, 1956, New York
Genre Rock and roll
Label RCA Records
Writer(s) Otis Blackwell, Jerry Leiber-Mark Stoller & Elvis Presley
Producer Steve Sholes, Elvis Presley
Certification Gold
For the Bobby Brown album, see Don't Be Cruel (album).
For the Bobby Brown song, see Don't Be Cruel (Bobby Brown song).
"Don't Be Cruel" is a song by Otis Blackwell, which was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1956.
It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004, it was listed #197 in Rolling
Stone's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song is currently ranked as the 92nd greatest
song of all time, as well as the fifth best song of 1956, by Acclaimed Music.
"Don't Be Cruel" was originally the A side of RCA single 47-6604, with "Hound Dog" on the B-side,
although both sides became chart-toppers, RCA reissuing the single in later decades as double A-side.
The single was the first to top all three extant Billboard charts: pop, rhythm & blues, and country & western.
The song was recorded for RCA Victor by Elvis' regular band of Scotty Moore on lead guitar
(with Elvis usually providing rhythm guitar), Bill Black on bass, D.J. Fontana on drums and
backing vocals from the Jordanaires. Presley recorded this song on July 2, 1956 at RCA's New York City studio.
The producing credit was given to RCA's Steve Sholes, however the studio recordings reveal that Elvis
produced the songs in this session (as well as many others) himself, which is verified by the band members.
Presley selected the song, reworked the arrangement himself on piano, and recorded twenty-eight takes of the
song with the band (number 28 being the take released on the record) during one recording session following
the thirty-one takes of "Hound Dog" (number 31 being released on the record) recorded that day.
"Any Way You Want Me" was also recorded in that same session following "Don't Be Cruel".
"Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog" were released on July 13, 1956.
Presley reworked the Otis Blackwell demo and changed the music and lyrics, just as he did to other compositions by Blackwell.
Hence the reason he received co-songwriting credit.
Presley, Scotty, Bill, DJ, and the Jordanaires first performed "Don't Be Cruel" on national television on the September 9,
1956 the Ed Sullivan Show. They revisited the song twice more when appearing on the Sullivan Show:
October 28 of the same year, and on January 6, 1957.
The record, listed as "Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog" at the time of its release,
hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending August 18, 1956, and remained in the top position for 11 consecutive weeks,
tying it with the 1950 Anton Karas hit The Third Man Theme and the 1951/1952 Johnnie Ray hit Cry for the longest stay at
number one by a single record until 1992's smash "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men.

Cronologicamente as duas faixas só seriam publicadas em LP na compilação Elvis’ Golden Records em 1958. A reedição de seu segundo album Elvis em CD em 1999 trouxe as faixas como bônus. Capa e selos no arquivo, este é pra fechar o ano. Bom Ano Novo aos visitantes e a toda família Arquivo e Original.

Link do Arquivo